CVE-2016-7985
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe CALM FAST parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-calm-fast.c:calm_fast_print().
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the CALM FAST protocol parser (print-calm-fast.c:calm_fast_print()) in tcpdump versions prior to 4.9.0. The overflow occurs during packet parsing, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted CALM FAST packets.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 4.8.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if tcpdump is installedRun 'tcpdump --version' or 'which tcpdump' to locate the tcpdump binaryAffected if tcpdump is not found on the system - not applicable for detection
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Determine installed tcpdump versionRun 'tcpdump --version' and examine the version number in the outputAffected if The version number is 4.8.1 or lower, or if the version cannot be determined but tcpdump is present
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Check for CALM FAST traffic capture capabilityVerify tcpdump has pcap library support by running 'tcpdump -h' or checking if it can capture on network interfacesAffected if tcpdump is installed and can capture network traffic - the CALM FAST parser processes packets during analysis of captured traffic
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Cross-reference version with affected rangeCompare your installed version (from --version output) to the affected range of <= 4.8.1Affected if Your version is 4.8.1 or any version prior to 4.9.0, making the CALM FAST parser vulnerable to buffer overflow when processing specially crafted packets
You are affected if tcpdump version 4.8.1 or lower is installed and actively used to analyze network traffic that may contain CALM FAST protocol packets.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later to patch the buffer overflow vulnerability in the CALM FAST parser.
tcpdump 4.9.0 or later
- 1. Check the current installed version of tcpdump by running 'tcpdump --version' or 'rpm -q tcpdump' / 'dpkg -l tcpdump'
- 2. Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later using your system's package manager: 'apt-get update && apt-get install tcpdump' (Debian/Ubuntu), 'yum update tcpdump' or 'dnf update tcpdump' (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora), or 'emerge --ask net-analyzer/tcpdump' (Gentoo)
- 3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'tcpdump --version' and confirming the version is 4.9.0 or higher
- 4. Test that tcpdump functions normally with your typical capture commands
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7985 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-7985 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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